There are conflicting reports regarding why a Carnival cruise employee ended up overboard yesterday about a 100 miles south of Galveston. The crewmember was employed on the Carnival Magic cruise ship and went overboard while the cruise ship was underway around 10:30 PM Saturday night. The ship called the U.S. Coast Guard, but the ship’s
Robbing Cruise Passengers in Bulk – Yes, It Happens!
Yesterday I talked about the recent armed robbery of 22 Carnival cruise passengers who were traveling in a bus back to the port in Puerto Vallarta during a Carnival sponsored excursion.
I mentioned that the cruise lines and tourism officials would quickly start a PR campaign to convince the public that robberies of large groups
Armed Banditos Rob 22 Carnival Passengers on Excursion in Mexico
The issue of the safety of cruise passengers in Mexico is again in the news with the armed robbery of twenty-two cruise passengers in Mexico on Thursday.
The passengers had sailed to Mexico on the Carnival Splendor and were on an excursion near Puerto Vallarta which was advertised and sponsored by the cruise line.
A Mexican
Another Drug Bust on the P & O Aurora – This Time 30 Kilos!
Newspapers in Australia are reporting that a British cruise passenger aboard the P & O Aurora cruise ship was arrested for trying to smuggle 30 kilos of cocaine into Australia.
The British citizen is 59 years old and was busted by Australian customs officers last Friday at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney. The customs
Read Sun Sentinel’s Cruise Crime Database (and Don’t Forget the Cartoons)
With cruise safety hearings coming up later this month in Washington, the debate will resume regarding how many crimes really occur on cruise ships.
The cruise lines will say that crime is rare but will not refer to any database to support their their self-serving conclusion. Cruise lines do not reveal their own internal crime
The Debate Continues: Does Maritime Law Favor Only The Cruise Lines?
Take a look at the photograph on the left. Can you identify it?
Nine times out of ten, I bet the answer is of course, its the Costa Concordia. You know, the cruise ship that crashed into rocks last last month near the Italian island of Giglio.
Wrong. Its a photo of the Sea
Cruise Industry Accountability Back in the Spotlight: U.S. House and Senate to Hold Hearings on Cruise Ship Safety
The U.S. House and Senate have scheduled hearings for February 29 and March 1, 2012 to address whether the cruise industry has taken adequate steps to protect cruise passengers and comply with newly enacted laws designed to make cruising safer.
A series of events prompted the Congressional hearings.
First, and most obvious, is the
Photos Located of Missing Costa Concordia Passengers, Gerald & Barbara Heil
Of the over 3,000 passengers aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship when it capsized, two Americans were lost, Gerald Heil, age 69, and Barbara Heil, age 70, of Minnesota. They are among fifteen passengers who were either trapped in the cruise ship or lost at sea.
Over the last five weeks since disaster struck, I
Cruise Ship Man Overboard Drill?
Cruise expert Professor Ross Klein’s website cruisejunkie.com contains interesting comments from a passenger from the Carnival Triumph regarding what some thought was a man overboard situation.
The passenger commented that on February 6th, while the cruise ship was docked in Progresso, Mexico, the cruise ship’s PA speaker blared “Bravo,Bravo Starboard.” A lifeboat was lowered to
Will the Costa Cruise Brand Survive?
Seatrade Insider has an interesting article today entitled "Costa Battles Media Onslaught, Concordia Scams."
The article raises the issue whether there is a future for the Costa Crociere brand following the Concordia disaster. The article quotes Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi admitting that Costa’s sales across the fleet are 35% below the
Cruise Law News Round Up: February 19, 2012
A rather ordinary couple of weeks in the world of cruising: 1,000 passengers or so sick with diarrhea and vomiting caused by gastrointestinal outbreaks on five cruise ships, 16 brawling passengers kicked off a cruise, a crewmember (a child activities supervisor no less) arrested on charges of molesting a child, a cruise passenger acquitted of
MSC Armonia Crewmember Dies, Passengers Hospitalized
A reader of Cruise Law News in Brazil has informed us that a crewmember of the Armonia cruise ship, operated by MSC Cruises, died yesterday after being admitted to the hospital in serious condition.
A newspaper in Brazil (G1 in Sao Paulo) reports that a local woman, Fabiana Pasquarelli, age 30, was taken from
Another Cruise Passenger Found Dead In Cayman Islands Waters
A newspaper in the Cayman Islands is reporting that a 56 year old cruise ship passenger was found dead in the water Wednesday afternoon.
The cruise passenger was found floating on the water by people on a boat in Coral Gardens. They lifted the man onto their vessel, but found he was unconscious and unresponsive
Did Cunard Child Supervisor Molest Other Children During Cruises?
Earlier this week, we reported on the arrest of former Cunard child supervisor Paul Trotter on allegations that he abused a child and possessed indecent photographs of children on his computer.
The British police investigated Mr. Trotter (photo below, playing piano on Cunard cruise ship) after the parents of a child, identified only as being
39 Costa Concordia Passengers File $528 Million Lawsuit in Miami – Weird Press Conference Follows
Yesterday, New York lawyers for Costa Concordia cruise survivors filed an amended lawsuit in Miami, adding 33 additional passengers as plaintiffs. The lawyers are seeking $78 million in compensatory damages and $450 in punitive damages for a total amount of $528 million on behalf of 39 passengers.
Although the lawyers called the original filing a "class action" lawsuit, the case was
Major Cruise Drug Bust in San Francisco
The San Francisco Weekly Blog reported today that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) busted three cruise ship passengers in San Francisco with nearly 13 kilos of cocaine last month.
The CBP and local law-enforcement officials found two separate discoveries of a large amount of cocaine on a cruise ship at Pier 35 on January 25th after the
Carnival Cruise Passengers Sentenced to Six Years in Jail for Conspiracy to Smuggle Pot into Bermuda
The Royal Gazette newspaper reports that a judge in Bermuda sentenced two U.S. cruise passengers to six years in jail each after trying to smuggle pot into Bermuda.
Bermuda Judge Carlisle Greaves sentenced the two female Carnival cruise passengers from Georgia, Alloah Releford, age 24, and Latoya Powell, age 27, for attempting to smuggle in 2.7kg of cannabis resin into the country.
The two
Cunard Child Supervisor Arrested for Sexually Molesting Child During Cruise
Several news stations in the U.K. are reporting that the police arrested a former Cunard crewmember on charges that he sexually molested at least one child during a cruise.
Paul Trotter, age 34, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, in the U.K., is alleged to have abused the child between December 20, 2011 and January 5, 2012 while working